Today: Ducking Donald. Who Killed Ex-Im?

Jul 02, 2015 | 5:08 AM

I'm Davan Maharaj, editor of the Los Angeles Times. Donald Trump is becoming the Republican Party's latest "Latino problem"; and the Koch brothers help bring down the Export-Import Bank. Here are some story lines I don't want you to miss today.

It seems like a government program Republicans could live with, even embrace: a "bank" that helps foreigners buy big U.S. goods like airplanes and, as a result, protects lots of jobs. Instead, killing the Export-Import Bank became a litmus test for far-right Republicans, who have closed it, at least for now. How did it happen? A money trail leads to the billionaire Koch brothers.

Backcourt Strategy

Has the Supreme Court shifted left? No, scholars say, despite big rulings for Obamacare and same-sex marriage. It's still 5-4 for the conservatives, but a solid show of unity by the left-leaning justices was a sound strategy against the divided right. A key was choosing which cases to hear. The conservatives may simply have chosen poorly.

Greece and the Greeks

Forget "Greece" for a moment and consider the plight of Greeks: Their banks are closed. A quarter are unemployed. Their hospitals are broken. Their government is broke. And they're being asked to vote Sunday on a financial bailout scheme even some economists can't decipher. Some worry it's really a vote on whether they're Europeans -- or something else.

Dribs and Drabs Add Up

Shorter showers. Fewer flushes. Less lawn. It might actually be working. Residential water use in California plummeted 29% in May from a year earlier. It's the first credible sign that the state might meet tough cuts demanded by Gov. Jerry Brown because of the drought. Now comes a tougher test: the hot summer season, when outdoor watering typically is 80% of consumption.